News & Notes — 3/09/13

Worth Reading:

“Why does Magic Need So Many Rules?”Fantasy author N. K. Jemison (The Killing Moon) explores whether magic in fantasy really needs to make sense, have a price, and conform to an internally logical system. (io9)

“The Princess and the Dragon of Publishing”, by Julie Butcher-Fedynich. A manifesto for going the traditional-publishing route. Not a new post (it’s at least a year old), but food for thought for authors debating the trad-vs.self-publishing dilemma. (BuzzyMag.com)

“SFWA De-Lists Hydra; Random House Responds”(Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware Blogs!) Hydra is Random House’s new digital-only “self-publishing” service. Its contract terms are not great for what writers get out of it: RH keeps the digital rights basically forever, and authors get 50% of the sales — a lot less than the 70% Amazon offers, and with Amazon, authors retain the copyright. The Science Fiction Writers Association, which does not recognize self-published authors or those who publish through so-called “vanity presses”, has decided that Hydra falls under this category, so authors published only under the Hydra imprint will not be eligible for SFWA membership. There are several links worth clicking in this article, including the one to SFWA president John Scalzi’s scathing blog post on Hydra’s contract terms.

HarperCollins is laying off 200 employeesdue to the shift from print to digital, and one senator wants federal help for a job retraining program for them. I suspect HarperCollins won’t be the only big (or small) publisher laying off employees. (Joseph Kohut, The Times-Tribune)

Giveaways on this and other blogs:

Starting Now, by Debbie Macomber,right here on The Bookwyrm’s Hoard!Ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time!, so click the link to sign up to win an ARC of the book.

Peach Pies and Alibis(a Charmed Pie Shoppe mystery) by Ellery Adams, on Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book. In addition to 2 copies of the book, Ms. Adams has a special prize pack with an apron, dish towels, and a mini pie mold.